A Tragedy at Hogwarts (A Tale of Tears)
by Sorcery Sisters
Summary: Kate and Pippa's first fic, a joint effort. PG for violence. No other reason. OK... Crabbe and Goyle speak Shakespeare style, someone's murdered and the killer is after Harry. As I'm sure you've guessed, not serious. At all. Fairly short, but not very swe


**A Tragedy at Hogwarts**

_or_

_A Tale of Tears_

A/N: *Aurora here* I'm writing this on behalf of Kate and Pippa, who are not here with me to write an authors note. I'm sure they'd agree, however, that this is very short and very silly. (Well, it made all of *us* laugh...) This was written for a fanfiction competition, where it won somthing like joint 'best adventure story'. It's not really an adventure... just a strange series of happenings, and, of course, a tragedy at Hogwarts.

Harry was never sure afterwards for what reason he was loitering in the potions corridor that evening. After all, it was not the best place for him to be hanging around with Snape around. Snape, the potions teacher, would love any excuse to take 50 points from Gryffindor and give Harry a detention. 

He was alone because it was the Christmas holidays and unusually, both Ron and Hermione had gone home.

He was just wondering whether or not to go and finish his transfiguration homework in the library, when he saw, sauntering down the corridor towards him, Draco Malfoy, followed as usual by his body guards, Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy was holding a piece of paper which looked like it had been torn out of a newspaper.

"Seen this Potter?" he sneered, thrusting the clipping into Harry's hand. "Somebody's out to get you!"

Harry glanced at the paper. 'Muggle Murdered' the headline read. Harry read on.

A muggle was found dead yesterday in the streets of a small town in Surrey. Experts from the Ministry found the marks of a deadly curse upon him. The muggle, Vernon Dursley by name was...

Harry read no further. A photo of Uncle Vernon was squeezed into the corner of the page. Harry looked up, stunned, into the grinning face of Malfoy. 

"Dear dear" he sneered. "First your parents, then your uncle. It'll be you next, Potter!" Suddenly Goyle snatched the paper from Harry's hand and stared fixedly at the photo of uncle Vernon. Crabbe tried to seize it and have a look but Goyle drew it back. 

" Goyle!" Snapped Malfoy. "Let your cousin have a look!"

" Cousin!" gasped Harry.

"Yes" Said Malfoy. " Their Mothers are sisters, didn't you know? I thought the great Harry Potter knew everything!"

Then, unexpectedly, Crabbe spoke to Goyle.

"Sweet cousin, dost thou not think this picture dost arouse long forgotten memories?"

" Indeed," replied Goyle. "Methinks so also. But from whence came these memories? It is beyond me to say who this man art though I recognise him in my heart, fair cousin."

Harry would have corrected this, if he had not been dumbfounded to hear them speak at all, let alone like this. Suddenly, Malfoy found his voice.

"What the hell are you two gabbering on about?" he cried. Both Crabbe and Goyle ignored him.

"Ah! Now I see!" cried Crabbe, "Art thou aware, dear cousin, that our gracious grandmother did bear four children. One twas my noble mother, and other was yours, but dost though remember the other two?"

"Yes! Cried Goyle. "Now I do! They were squibs, both, that defied their heritage and swore to live as muggles! One twas named Marge, the other Vernon!"

"And so," cried Crabbe, turning to Harry. "This renders us your relatives, if not by blood then by marriage!"

"Hey!" Cried Malfoy. "What's got into you two?"

Goyle turned to Malfoy. "Be gone, vilest worm! We art no longer comrades of thee! Be gone I say!"

And Malfoy, gawping at both of them, turned and positively fled from them, eyeing their heavy fists with caution.

Crabbe said to Harry, "Harry, we have lived a time when we knew not ourselves, nor what we did. Pray forgive any wrong we have previously done thee, and we would be honoured, my sweet cousin and myself, to be, if thou permittest, thy friend." 

Harry was so stupefied by this rush of unexpected words that he could only say, "Um, okay...." And being extremely tired and shocked by recent events, he stumbled back to his dormitory and fell fast asleep.

Harry woke at what must have been around 2.00 in the morning, sweating and shaking. It couldn't be true! Had uncle Vernon really been murdered? Were Crabbe and Goyle really his relations? He reached down and fell for the only confirmation of yesterdays events. The newspaper article. Damn! He'd left it in the potions corridor! He knew it was stupid, But he had to know. He swung his legs out of bed, and crept from the deserted dormitory, forgetting his invisibility cloak. He was just about to leave the common room when he heard an excited squeak from behind him. He whirled around to see Colin Creevey emerge from the shadows.

"Harry!" I heard someone so I got up! Where are you going Harry? Can I come with you?"

"No Colin! Shut up!" said Harry forcefully, but Colin was already at his side and it was obvious he was not to be placated. So they crept through the school, down the 8 floors to the potions corridor where Harry had left the clipping. To get there, they had to pass the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Harry was astounded to see Crabbe and Goyle sitting outside it. At the sight of Harry they leapt up.

"What are you two doing?" Gasped Harry.

"We refuse to sleep in the dormitory of the house that we no longer belong to!" Cried Goyle.

"We must come with you! Wherever the fates may lead us! Onward dear friends." Said Crabbe.

Harry thought this was really getting stupid when suddenly, from out of the shadows, leapt a tall figure in a black cloak and a hood that covered his face. Before Harry could say or do anything, the figure grabbed him and began to drag him down the corridor and into the next room, a deserted classroom. Crabbe, Goyle and Colin burst in after them. Then the figure pulled down his hood. It wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort. It was Percy.

"You!" Gasped Harry.

"Me." Said Percy, cooly.

Then, with out a word, he took out his wand and muttered, 

"Prior Incantium." The image of Uncle Vernon came out of Percy's wand.

"You killed my uncle!" Gasped Harry.

"Yes, that was me too. And as your friend Malfoy was good enough to predict, it'll be you next!"

Percy pulled out his wand. But Crabbe leapt towards him, snatched his wand away, and snapped it like it was a matchstick.

"Nice move," Said Percy, raising an eyebrow. "But I'm afraid it's not quite that easy." From his robes he drew out a gun and pointed it straight at Harry.

"Die, Harry Potter!" He hissed. "No one knew, not even my family, that all this time, I have not been working for the ministry, but for the dark lord! Now die! As you should have done 15 years ago!

Then, several things happened at once.

Firstly, Percy pulled the trigger and the gun fired. At the same moment Colin leapt in front of Harry with a loud cry of "Nooooooo!"

which was cut short when the bullet struck him in the head and he dropped to the floor, dead. Harry fell to his knees on the brain- splattered floor beside Colin's body. Percy gave one mad-eyed stare at the scene, before placing the gun into his own mouth and pulling the trigger.

"How tragic!" said Goyle. "My heart is fairly wrung! But as the poet says, love springs from tragedy."

"I feel that some music would be appropriate" Mused Crabbe. "Some Beethoven, or perhaps a little Bach?"

But Harry, kneeling on the floor amongst the splinters of bone, the blood staining his robes, heard none of what they said, and his tears hit Colin's face like raindrops.

The End

*Sob sob...* Aurora ^_~


End file.
